Limited Lovers
by justwinkie
Summary: Draco and Hermione have had a secret relationship for years now, the war is over and they are attempting to get back into the swing of things. But can they work things out after everything that has happened?
1. Author's Note

_Authors Note:__It is the trios seventh and final year. Voldemort was defeated the previous year. After the death eaters invaded the castle to aid in the murder of Dumbledore, the Order shortly appeared and protected him along with many of the students who decided to fight against the Death Eaters after Harry had informed Ron and Hermione of what was going on, and asked them to inform Dumbledore's Army. Voldemort eventually showed up and fought as well, Harry defeated him however. Leaving his soul in the loom. Harry spent the summer hunting down the remainder of the Horcruxes with the help of Dumbledore and Snape. Once they were destroyed the remainder of the summer was spent quietly. Now that term has begun, the students have returned to Hogwarts to finish their years, for most of which is their last year, in peace._


	2. Nostalgia

It was late September and the leaves were falling heavily from the trees. Brown, golden, and red leaves scattered the grounds of Hogwarts. The air was damp and thick these days; even more so at night than during the day, making it difficult to walk the grounds in the evening time if one was to choose to take a stroll by the lake after dinner. The cold was creeping up faster than it had before the previous year, and with each passing day the temperature seemed to drop more and more. The days when the students could see the sun through the thick and brooding clouds was a blessing as it was, and now the clouds seems to grow bigger and darker, allowing almost no direct sunlight through. It seemed only a bit unusual for this time of year. But the students and professors didn't acknowledge it very much, seeing as the weather had been changing a lot in the past few years. The castle itself was warm and welcoming to everyone in it. The summer holiday wasn't long gone, and the students were enjoying each other's renewed company.

Inside the Great Hall Ron, Harry, and Hermione had just sat down to a quick lunch. The day had been long and slow. They had come into their seventh and final year, and for Hermione, each day was even more sacred than ever before. They had limited days and the numbers kept getting smaller at a quick pace. Sometimes she found herself close to tears as she walked through the halls of the castle, reminiscing on all the wonderful and frightening times she'd had. This year seemed odd. No fighting, no danger. Nothing to worry about except their futures, before they never had any way of knowing if they were going to have one, and now, they did. It was so hard to come back making it seem as if things were normal, when they weren't. Allies had been made between all the houses, for the most part at least, and the place was peaceful. Something the students and professors hadn't known much of before this year.

She sighed, and placed her fork down onto the barely touched plate of steamed vegetables, and baked chicken. The boys were talking about Quidditch and how amazing they had to make their last year. Today hadn't been such a great day for Hermione. She had been bored all morning, since she didn't have any classes. It bothered her that they weren't allowed to take classes during the weekends, and although she had tried many times, she was never able to persuade Professor Dumbledore to ask the professors to offer them. Her mind wandered off to her summer. It had been bleak and boring for the most part, uneventful until the very end.

It was the day before she was supposed to leave for the Burrow. She was going early this year for Bill and Fluer's wedding, and she was grateful for it. She needed to finally get out of her home. She'd done all the summer's reading and, although she loved and cared for her parents, they didn't have nearly as much time for her as she would have liked. She spent most of her days reading old novels that were in her room, practicing spells until it drained her, and taking strolls in the plazas near her home. Today she'd finished packing her clothes and necessary school items. She was alone at home for her parents were out of town at a conference. They had said their goodbyes the previous day when they left, promising to write often until she saw them again at Christmastime.

She had just made herself comfortable in the sitting room of their quaint home, with a cup of tea and a book she had picked up from the shop earlier in the day when she heard a distant sound. She listened for a moment before deciding it wasn't of any importance, and opened the book. _ Eeiiii! _The noise was louder this time it was definitely there. She placed the book down, and stood up, opening the curtains that were next to her chair. The sun could barely be seen now, and the sky was a deep orange red. She stood still for a moment, listening intently. _Eeeeeiiiiii! _

"Was that-"she began to speak to herself but was cut off by another loud screech. "Oh!" She exclaimed, rushing to the front door, to let the dark owl in. It didn't look familiar at all, but perched itself upon the banister of the staircase. She removed the letter from its claws and the owl flew out, not bothering to wait around for the small treat Hermione was about to reward him. She shrugged and closed the front door, returning to her chair and tea. She turned over the envelope, _Hermione, _it stated simply. She opened it to find a small piece of parchment with just a few lines of scribble upon it.

_Hermione, I'm writing to inform you that I am in muggle London at the moment. Please excuse the briefness of this letter, father is looming about somewhere and even after the war he still does not approve of me talking to you. I need to see you. Please meet me on the corner of Cambridge and Chartwood at 7pm. Do not respond to this; merely meet me if you wish._

_Draco_

Hermione glanced at the clock above the fireplace; the time read 6:42pm. She would barely make it on time, if she decided to go. She hadn't spoken to Draco since before Christmas break of last year. Once the war broke out, he refused to meet with her, even in secret. Their entire friendship, and relationship had been kept a secret since their fourth year, and had completely dissolved just a few months earlier. She wanted to keep herself from going, but decided she had a right to know what he wanted to speak to her about. She rose from the chair, extinguished all the lights in the house and left, leaving her cup of tea sitting on the small table next to the chair to lose its warmth.


	3. Longing

Chapter 2- LONGING

Hermione walked briskly down the road, leaving her neighborhood. She wasn't wearing layered clothing, merely a pair of trousers and a fitted shirt. The breeze was making her wish that she had brought along a light sweater or at least had worn long sleeves. It was still the month of July, but the nights were beginning to cool down more and more, and she wasn't the type of person who was very fond of the coldness that usually clouded them. Then again maybe it wasn't the breeze that was getting to her. Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't spoken to Draco in nearly eight months that was causing her to feel chills. Hermione rubbed her arms, to try and warm them a bit, and felt the small bumps that had been raised as a result of the cold air, or her nervousness.

There was no need for her to take a car, or a bus to the plaza where she was meeting him. It was only a few blocks away, and now she felt safe enough to be able to walk around in the evening time. Even if it was the muggle world, and it had its own dangers, she felt more or less, completely safe. She turned the corner at the end of her neighborhood, and could see the long building with the many shops within. All or most of them had been closed for the night, since they didn't have to stay open past seven anyway. It was a Sunday, and the shops around her neighborhood were small, family owned shops that made their own hours, and didn't enjoy being home late for dinner. The only people who could be found here now, were elderly couples sitting on benches enjoying the sunset together. Or young, new couples taking an evening stroll, and openly expressing their new found love.

The clock in the center of the small shopping square stated that the time was now 7:02pm. She walked past the first set of shops that led to Chartwood Street. There was a small tea shop on the corner which Draco had asked her to meet, and wondered why he had decided to meet her in public. It wasn't as if she knew any muggles, and was almost certain that he didn't know any at all. Only the matter of him wanting to meet her in a public place was a surprise to her. She began to walk towards the small shop, and then realized that it was also closed for the night. She looked around unsure if he had left already or if he was not yet there. Then she heard his voice, dark and smooth, like the night.

"Hermione?" He whispered.

"Draco? Is that you?" She couldn't see his face, for it was covered by a cloak. And the sky was now almost completely dark, yet the light from the plaza hadn't turned on yet. Still she walked to the cloaked figure, taking a dare that it was him, although she was a bit frightened for some unknown reason.

As soon as she had gotten close enough to see his face, he grabbed her hand, and practically dragged her away to a bench that was sitting near a tree, keeping them hidden in the shadows. They sat down, her hands a little shaky now from the sudden movement he had put her in. What could he possibly want to speak to her about?

"I'm so glad you came, Hermione."

That was an unusual thing of him to say. It would always be. Even if it had been during the times when they were intimate with each other…She forced the thought from her head. That was a long time ago. And she wouldn't allow the sudden change in his attitude forgive him for what he'd done last year.

"What do you want, Draco?" She hissed at him.

She heard him sigh deeply. "I really miss you. I thought, now that the war is over that-"

"That what, Draco? That we could get back together? That we could just pick up where we left off?"

"Keep your voice down, please!" He begged.

"Are you afraid mummy is going to somehow catch you with me?" That was uncharacteristically harsh of her. She shouldn't have said that, she thought.

"Can we just talk, please?" His voice stern now, attempting to hide his emotions.

"Fine." She returned the tone he had given her, along with a cold look, although she knew he probably couldn't see her very well.

He cleared his throat before speaking again. "As I was saying. Now that the war is over, I thought that maybe, we could…..talk. More, or something." His voice trailed off now, the shadow of his cloaked head dropped and he took a deep breath. "These past few months, before the war, and afterwards, it was really hard for me Hermione."

"And can you imagine how it was for me then? Being left, forgotten like that?" She exclaimed, a knot forming in her throat. For the past few months, after allowing herself a small amount of time for grieving she had forced herself to completely forget that Draco existed, ignoring any notion or mention of him.

"I can imagine that it must have been, but Hermione. I had to protect my family. I had to protect you. I couldn't allow you to get involved in everything." She could tell these words were hard for him to say. They came out slowly, and concentrated.

"You could have at least explained. One ruddy owl stating you couldn't see me anymore is not what I deserved."

"I know, I know." He placed his head in his heads, sliding the cloak off his head now, rubbing at his temples. "I just didn't know what else to do."

He looked up, and for the first time in months. She looked into his eyes. His beautiful, wonderful, green eyes. And suddenly, without realizing what she was doing, she kissed him, fully and passionately. She hadn't allowed herself to long for him, and in two seconds with one glance, all the suppressed feelings of the past eight months came rushing upon her. She was about to pull away, realizing what she had done, knowing it must have been a mistake, when she felt his soft, warm hands upon her cheeks, pulling her back in, asking for more.


	4. Reality

Chapter 3- Reality

Hermione allowed herself one weaker second, one more moment of fulfilling desire, then she pushed Draco away. Hiding her face from him, holding back monstrous tears and sobs, she tried to speak but found no words to say.

"Hermione? Are you okay?" Draco attempted to turn her towards him, but she pulled back.

"Hermione. What is wrong? You're acting like a child." He became frustrated; he didn't understand why she wouldn't just look at him and talk. After a while, Draco tried to calm himself down, reminding himself how she could get a bit emotional and he just had to be patient.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you. But will you please just turn around and talk to me." He grabbed her shoulder, and tried to turn her around once more, this time she allowed him to do so only so she could raise her hand and slap him hard on the face. Then without saying another word she stood and walked off; leaving him as confused as ever, just like he had done to her all those months ago.

Hermione had forgotten she was in the Great Hall, and was startled when Harry nudged her to let her know they were done eating and were now going off for a walk. She stood and gathered her things silently as the boys chattered on. They never did seem to notice when she was in a mood, or if they did they never really acknowledged it.

They had been in school for almost a month now, and Hermione still hadn't spoken to Draco since that night in London; partially because she was embarrassed, partially because he hadn't tried to speak to her either, but mostly because she was still very, very angry with him. The boys waited until she had finished gathering her things until they began to make their way out of the Great Hall. Thankfully, even with the war over, Harry and Ron had still not made friends with very many Slytherins, and she was grateful that they hadn't even thought about approaching Draco. They were walking past the Slytherin table now, and out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Draco seated at the table surrounded by his housemates, and sitting right next to him was Pansy Parkinson. Hermione wasn't sure if Draco had seen her or not, but if he had, he was doing a very good job of pretending like he hadn't, and Hermione thought that maybe that's the way things should be after all.

Back at the Slytherin table, Draco sat with his friends attempting to keep his mind occupied with the stupid jokes they were telling. The year had been a bore for him so far, his family had no idea how to deal with their lives now that the Dark Lord was dead, and for once, Draco didn't have it so hard anymore. What was weird about the fact was that he didn't know what to do now that he didn't have so much pressure on himself. He still had to tend to his family duties of course but there was no death involved, or no danger really. For the first time ever, he was living a normal life.

He noticed the three Gryffindors walk by the Slytherin table on their way out of the Great Hall, but tried to play it off as if he didn't, or didn't care that they were there, completely ignoring their existence. He hoped Hermione wouldn't catch on; she was a little too smart for him sometimes, which was one of the unlikely things that turned him onto her. Draco had been too scared to talk to her since term started, although he desperately wanted to, he couldn't. He couldn't face her again, especially since their last encounter, he was terrified she would hex him or something. He couldn't blame her of course, when he stopped speaking to her what was almost a year ago now, he didn't exactly explain himself, but how could he have explained something like that? He pushed these thoughts from his mind for the time being and returned to his fellow housemates, pretending to be entertained with their sodden jokes of racism.


	5. Another Memory

Harry, Hermione, and Ron made their way down to the Quidditch pitch where Harry and Ron were going to practice a bit before they had actual practice that afternoon. Hermione slowly made her way up the stairs of the pitch to seat herself up on top to watch them for a while. It was a chilly day out although it was only a little bit past 2pm. She felt she'd been climbing the stairs forever, and she knew that once she got to the top it was only going to be that much colder. By the time she did the boys had already been playing for a while, because they had already formed a bit of a cold sweat that Hermione could spot despite her distance from them. Not to mention that Ginny had joined them in the air, although she hadn't walked with them to the pitch. Hermione was sitting on the benches with a little less than twenty people for a mere five minutes when she could no longer stand the cold. She should have realized that she would need to bring a coat or sweater, the weather had been uncharacteristically cooler than usual, and Hermione had been so distracted with her memories lately that she kept forgetting about these small changes. She decided to wait for one of the boys to look her way, which they usually did so that she could give them a smile or thumbs up to let them know they looked good on their brooms, so that she could signal that she was going to leave. She didn't want them to think she left because she was angry with them, although she really had no reason to be.

It was another ten minutes of teeth chattering before Harry finally looked over at her. His look wasn't one of expectation though. Like it usually was when he had been practicing, she was just about to give him a thumbs up when she realized this, it was more of a solemn look. So he had noticed the way she'd been. He just didn't want to say anything in front of Ron. Of course he would notice, they were best friends, and last year when Draco had cut all connection with her, he had noticed, although she could never tell him about what they had. Not after everything that Harry and Draco had gone through. Although Hermione didn't know that Draco was sent to kill Dumbledore, she knew he was in trouble somehow.

Draco and Hermione had spent the previous two summers after their relationship had started, writing letters to each other, using different names, Dianne and Harvey, and on occasion they had been able to see each other, on those warm summer nights in muggle London. Draco would make some excuse to his father, who didn't really care much for what he had to say or what he was doing in those days, so Draco could get away with ease. It was Hermione however who had trouble sneaking out, even if it was just for a few hours of passion. Her parents knew she had no muggle friends, and that she spent most of her days doing puzzles and drinking tea with them or catching up on her summer reading for Hogwarts.

When she did manage to get away however she would lie saying she was going to the book shop for a new novel, and instead steal away with Draco to a secluded park or deserted parking lot, enjoying each others company and unnecessary warmth for a few hours before they would have to part again and go back to reality.

But that summer before their sixth year, Hermione had sent five letters to Draco, receiving one reply. Only to say that he wouldn't be able to see her until school resumed. She immediately knew something must have been wrong, something was coming up, something he didn't want her to know. Something bad. So when school started, Hermione already expected him to be distant. He already had a distant closed personality and only shared his true self with Hermione on occasion, but this year he seemed cold and scared. Always paranoid, always lurking about.

When Harry accused him of being a death eater, of course Hermione couldn't believe it, she wouldn't, but Draco scarcely met with her now, and often cancelled their plans to meet in the forest or by the lake, a practical tradition they'd had once a week since their fourth year. Hermione asked Draco on several occasions what was going on in his life, each time he would change the subject, or cut her off by kissing her hard and long, pulling her against him. Their love seemed more like lust, or something for him to fall back on for relaxation now. He stopped writing to her for secret stolen kisses in the deserted halls between classes, and stopped exchanging looks with her during lessons, he stopped showing up in the forest altogether. His distance was getting worse and worse, and as the term dragged on, she could feel him almost completely gone.

Then two weeks before Christmas, he asked her to meet him after dinner. Slipping a note into her sack somehow. When she showed up at the lake however, he was no where to be found. She waited fifteen minutes in the freezing cold for him to show. The lake was frozen over and it glittered in the moonlight, making it unnaturally bright for the night time. She was sitting on a large rock by the shore, when she heard a rustling, thinking it was Draco, she stood about ready to hit him square in the face as she had done their third year, then she realized it was his owl with a wing stuck in a branch. He removed the piece of parchment from the dark owls beak, and watched it fly away immediately before glancing down at the paper. It was small, and wasn't even folded. It seemed as if it had been torn out of a book.

_Hermione, Please understand that I cannot see you anymore. Do not try to contact me. _

_Draco_

That was it. The only thing he had left her with after the most questionable term of her life. Of course, it all went downhill from there. With the fight between him and Harry, and him helping the death eaters into the castle. How could he be forgiven?

After a moment of exchanged solemn looks, Hermione finally motioned to Harry that she would be leaving because it was too cold for her to stand it by rubbing her shoulders and pointing out how her lips had gone a light shade of blue. He smiled apologetically and nodded at her.

She stood slowly, and walked towards the stairs of the bleachers, feeling her bones grinding like chains that hadn't been oiled for some time. She had nearly made it to the bottom when she felt her self falling. No. Not falling, flying. No. She was being pulled. By the side, she was falling. Yes she was. She was just to frozen to realize it, and had no way of stopping herself for she was completely immobilized.


	6. Forgiveness?

Chapter 5

Heriome felt her head impact with something, and although fear should have over shadowed her, she felt nothing as she fell sideways, but she didn't hit the ground, instead she was caught by something….someone…and they pulled her deeper under the bleachers, into the darkness. By the time she had regained consciousness she couldn't really see anything around her. She was lying on the concrete, and she could smell the old wood that held up the bleachers, she knew there had to be rows and rows of them.

She sat up slowly, so that she wouldn't hit her head again, and immediately felt the sharpness of the pain that ran from the back of her head where she had been hit, to her forehead. She rubbed the area, and felt a bump, but when her hand came back to the front of her face, she could see no blood. Although it was very dark, and there was really no telling. She heard a small shuffle and instinctively reached for her wand.

"No, no. It's just me." A voice drifted towards her, quicker than the moving object itself. Tall, and thin, it was. And for some reason, she couldn't fathom in her mind that it was Draco who had done this to her. But why?

"Are you trying to kill me or something?" She hissed, narrowing her eyes at him through the darkness. She lifted her wand anyway, and he held his hands up in front of his face. "I'm not going to curse you, you idiot." She said, and muttered the spell _Lumos_ softly. The small light emitting from her wand showed Draco's solemn face, as she checked her head once more for any blood, none that she could see however. She lifted herself to a standing position, watching her head like a mild hypochondriac.

Draco backed away from her as she did so, and stumbled on some clutter that had been discarded there some time ago. She nearly laughed, but held it in, so that she could relish his fear a bit longer. He attempted to play it off and sat on a log that was nearby, without rising to a standing position again.

"So what exactly was your motive for dragging me down here, Draco? Were you trying to kidnap me? Kill me? What?" She cowered over him, anger, and confused.

"I-I don't kno-know! I just didn't know how else to see you in private. I knew you wouldn't answer any of my owls, and so I followed you here, and –"

"You followed me here. YOU FOLLOWED ME HERE! What are you trying to do Draco? You know that if Harry or Ron would have seen you that I would have been in huge trouble. Not to mention the fact that it would have probably cost you a limb or two. Just because the war is over doesn't mean we have the luxury of being so nonchalant with everything."

"I know that! What do you take me for? I just needed to talk to you, okay. I panicked."

Hermione slumped down next to Draco, sighing deeply. "You just can't be so careless like that." She had exhausted herself by yelling at him, and now the pain on her head was pulsing, and she didn't feel like harassing him any longer due to it.

She sat there for a while, staring blankly forward, thinking about how sad and pathetic it was that this is what they're meeting had come to once again, anger and pain hidden away under some dusty place no one bothered to go to. It didn't matter that the war was over, no one would ever approve of them, and in truth they would have to hide away like this forever. Hermione sighed, turning to Draco. "How long could we really keep this up? Look at us. Months after the war, and we still have to sneak around. Why would you want that with anyone?"

His eyes were sad and he looked at her, studying her face and taking in her words, but it seemed he didn't care about any of it. He didn't touch her, but leaned in slowly to kiss her cheek. "Because, Hermione Granger. I love you, and I'd rather be with you like this than not at all."


End file.
